Major Developments:
The state advanced the $7 billion redesign of Penn Station, The state will begin accepting bids from architecture and engineering firms for the redesign of the station. Proposals are due in July and a winner will be selected in the fall.J-51 joins 421a in the graveyard of real estate benefits as The decades-old tax exemption program J-51, which incentivized landlords to renovate apartment buildings expired on June 29.
Rent board approves first full-year, post-Covid hike of 3.25%. Landlords and tenants, both unhappy with vote, say reform is needed to the chagrin of both sides, the Rent Guidelines Board voted 5-4 to raise stabilized rents 3.25% on one-year leases and 5% on two-year leases.
A state court judge on Tuesday threw out a challenge to the Gowanus rezoning, giving local opponents two main reasons for the decision: You are late, and even if you weren’t, you have no case.
Vornado and Haymes are suing each other to make their respective valuations stick. For the land beneath its office building at 330 West 34th Street. Vornado says the land is worth $145 million. Haymes Investment Company, claims its value is $225 million.
The American Dream’s ownership missed an interest payment on a nine-figure debt. Triple Five Group failed to make its semiannual payment on a $800 million municipal bond.
Robert Gans has filed for bankruptcy protection. to shield his property from a foreclosure sale scheduled for September from an LLC controlled by Extell and Bluestone, and claims the mezzanine arrears of $27 million, and wants control of his 57,700-square-foot assemblage between West 45th and West 46th streets on 11th Avenue. Included in the bankruptcy is a 150,000 square feet of development potential, at 536 W 28th and 32,000 square feet of industrial property in Queens.
Amazon is halting warehouse deals after spending billions in recent years to double its portfolio of fulfillment and distribution centers.
The West-Park Presyterian Church at West 86th Street and Amsterdam Avenue is in bad shape physically. One of the city’s longest-standing sidewalk sheds protects passersby from chunks of rock falling from the 132-year-old building.
Employers hired 390,000 workers last month with substantial gains in leisure and hospitality, construction, and warehousing and storage. Unemployment remained at 3.6% as the number of nonfarm jobs rose to within 822,000, or 0.5%, of its pre-pandemic mark.
Average hourly wages grew in May to $31.95 for an annual increase of 5.2%. Hospitality saw the largest wage gains.
Real Estate Equities Corp is building a nine-story, 61,000-square-foot building at 1 St. Marks Place which will include 53,000 square feet of office space and more than 7,700 square feet of retail space.
Delancey Street Associates, a joint venture of Taconic Partners, L+M Development, BFC Partners, Prusik Group and Goldman Sachs Asset Management’s Urban Investment Group have secured $466 million for the 1.9 million-square-foot megaproject from Deutsche Bank and Square Mile Capital that replaces $455 million worth of construction loans.
The Princeton Club of New York located at 15 West 43rd Street defaulted on a $39 million mortgage and the holder of the note sued to foreclose on the Midtown building. The Princeton Club lost about one-third of its 6,000 dues-paying members.
Lalezarian Properties filed plans for a 200-unit mixed-use building at 567 Third Avenue. The project is being designed by SLCE Architects. The plans call for a 194,000-square-foot, 352-foot building. The 34-story property will include retail space on the ground floor, followed by five units on floors two through nine and four units on floors 10 through 34. There will also be an amenity space in the cellar.
Chetrit secures a lifeline at the Empire Hotel and will get 2 extra years and reduced interest on a defaulted mortgage. The partners got a two-year extension on the loan at the 427-room hotel near Lincoln Center located at 44 West 63rd Street and reduced the interest rate.
Wells Fargo is holding the property owner at 693 Fifth Avenue, Financière Marc de Lacharrière, in default. The bank is demanding full payment of a $227 million loan balance. A $100 million settlement was not enough to settle all of the differences at the Fifth Avenue retail property.
NoMad is slated for the debuts of several new hotels that could bring a business boost to the area. Six hotels are expected to open in the neighborhood by the end of this year, raising the area’s stock of properties 25%. The Ritz-Carlton New York, NoMad is scheduled to open. The General manager expects to be fully booked at rates starting at $1,100 a night.
